Plans in motion to bring new retailers to town

Plans to bring up to six new retailers to Wexford are in the pipeline, according to President of Wexford Chamber Karl Fitzpatrick.

Mr Fitzpatrick said that the Chamber are currently in talks with five or six retailers who have shown an interest in expanding into Wexford. Saying that he is unable to go into detail about who these retailers are at present, he clarified that they are 'not the large box retailers' such as Next, River Island and H and M.

'Each of the retailers we are in discussions with has their own road map in terms of expanding. One of the retailers is planning on opening ten new stores in Ireland in the next two years. We could be year three,' he continued. 'I can't say who it is, but I can say that the retailer sells a bit of everything that is currently on sale on the Main Street.

'They are looking for a store of 40,000 square feet and we don't have that at the moment. The ideal property either needs to become available, somebody needs to build it or we need to work with Wexford County Council with a view to getting planning guidelines reviewed.'

Mr Fitzpatrick said that the Chamber are aware that Wexford 'can't compete' with cities when it comes to population or socioeconomic status. However, he said that they want to make Wexford the next best place for retailers to set up.

'We want to make sure Wexford is number one for these retailers when they have finished developing in cities. Once they are looking at the next stage, we want to make sure that Wexford is at the top of their list.'

In order to do this, he said that the Chamber are working with local estate agents, who are 'the direct line of communication' with retailers looking to invest. They have also exhibited and met retailers at events such as the Retail Retreat in Kilkenny which is run by Retail Excellence Ireland. In addition, Mr Fitzpatrick said they send out their retail investor prospectus and an invitation to visit the town to any new or expanding businesses in Ireland.